


(How I) Me(e)t My Older Rabid Pest Gamer (boyfriend)

by CelticSaemi



Series: Hans and Anna, the Geeks [1]
Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awckward interactions, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Humor, MMORPGs, Online Romance, epic online adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2014-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-14 17:58:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1275700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelticSaemi/pseuds/CelticSaemi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anna has decided to join her sister on High-Earth, a MMORPG. It is quite a good surprise for her, except for one annoying player…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What is this feeling?

Anna was startled by the sound from her computer. Rubbing her eyes, still half-asleep, she looked at the screen.

“Finally!” she sighed.

The game had taken more than two hours to install, but now, she could finally play it.

What I wouldn’t do for my sister, she thought as she launched it.

Her older sister, Elsa, was a big fan of MMORPG, and when Anna heard she had been playing High-Earth for a good while, she took it as an opportunity to strengthen their slowly mending bond and decided to play it too.

Elsa was already among the high-leveled gamers, after five months of playing, and it seemed she was now quite famous. A lot of people online admired and feared her as the elementary sorceress or invocatoress, she couldn't really remember, Snow-Ice-Queen. 

The strawberry-haired girl had no idea what she was getting herself into, but she was determined to have fun with her sister. With that in mind, she created her avatar, commenting loudly while doing so. 

“Gender? Female of course! ...Race? Huuuuh, let's stick with human and now... class?! But I don't care, something simple!” After looking through some boring explanations, she chose a knight; it seemed the simplest way. “Which side, Skies, Mountains or Sea?? Well, Elsa told me she was in the Mountains, but I like the idea of the Skies, let's see what they say about it. Each sides are allies, but nanana players can duel when from different sides nanana or kill but it can... don't care, oh, it doesn't really matter except for the Great Battles days. So, Skies, here I come!”

Configuring her avatar's look was more fun. After a while, laughing at the faces she could create, she decided to finish it and start playing. When she clicked « confirm », a bar appeared.

Username: ?

Oops, she hadn't thought about it. 

\----

Anna had to admit, it was better than she expected. She met a lot of nice people playing the game, she even crossed paths with her cousin, Rapunzel (Goldie_Flower), and it had been so fun! And with the help of Elsa, she had quickly come to level 20 after only two weeks of playing online.

But, of course, it was not perfect. 

There was this player, a guy... a real jerk.

He just couldn't leave her alone! 

Okay, she brought him troubles almost each time they met, but she never meant it and she apologized at least a dozen times each time it happened! It wasn't HER fault if he came to her in her bad moments or if he was victim of her clumsiness (which followed her even more in the game, geez). And when he attacked her without reason (since he was from the Sea side, he could injure or kill her), it just backfired on him, it was JUSTICE !

She had just found a rare artifact that could protect one against any attack, from any level, and counter-attack automatically. Anna immediately put it in her equipment when that idiot appeared out of nowhere and attacked her and, well, it worked and he was killed by his own power (he was level 54).

She got 5 levels up for that and her friend, Reindeer_man, was completely stunned, witnessing what just happened.

Since that day, that guy was determined to kill her or make her online life a living hell. Anna didn't mind at first, she thought he had the right to be angry after all that happened, but now, it was seriously annoying and he was such a jerk! 

She had just managed to avoid him and was walking through the Emerald forest alone.

“What kind of username is King-of-them-all anyway?” She said in her microphone. “That's...”

“Certainly better than Pretty-Princess_chocolate!” Exclaimed an oh-so-damned voice. “Seriously, how old are you?”

…

…

Was it possible to kill the man behind the screen by killing his avatar?

\----

Merida (The-Intrepid-Archer), Rapunzel, Elsa and Anna were in the middle of a quest, quite a long one, so they were all merrily talking and joking on the way, when it led to an interesting conversation.

“And what about your crush? I mean, your internet crush!” asked Merida with her thick Scottish accent.

“My crush?” Anna was confused. “What crush?”

Merida was a good friend of Rapunzel. Elsa and Anna had the pleasure to meet her in real life some weeks ago and they all got along very well.

“Oh, come on! Don't be like that! I mean the one you keep talking about, well, mostly complain about, all day long!”

“Tell me about it,” added Elsa. “She even talks about him at home even when we're not on High Earth!”

“Wait, what?” Anna turned her eyes away from the screen to look at her sister, who sat next to her with her own computer.

“They're talking about King-of-them-all.” Rapunzel informed with a giggle.

The young girl stiffened and stayed still for more than ten seconds. She then glared darkly at her sister, who was focusing on her own screen, but Anna could see she was holding back her laughter.

Anna tried hard to stay calm for the next few minutes, trying to explain to her three chuckling companions that NO, she didn't have a crush on that jerk, before she started shouting at them, making them only laugh harder.

It kept on for a while; they did not leave her alone with that during the first half on their quest. Fortunately, they came to the hard part of the quest, so the three traitors had to drop the subject to focus on the fight.

In the middle of the fight, Anna realized that it had been quite a long time since she saw him last. And it was almost two months ago. Well, that wasn't surprising, because every time he was around and got into trouble, he only managed to make himself fall deeper into it, costing him a lot of experience and paying a good amount of credits (the game currency) to repair his equipment. 

Last time, he had managed to freeze her avatar, she had been on the verge to dying when Elsa came into the picture, healing Anna and killing him in one blow despite his pleas (poor bugger didn't know that one of the most powerful gamers was her sister). 

“I guess that must be it.” She thought as they all crossed the bridge. “He must have gotten tired of this. About time, after stalking me for so long...”

Yet, she didn't feel pleased at the idea of never interacting with him again. He was a pain, sure, but honestly, she also had fun with him too, somehow. And she couldn't help but laugh, thinking about the situations they both ended up in (especially him).

It felt... boring, lonely, imagining never being able to play with him again. Anna didn't like playing alone, the best time she had online was when she could play with her sister, cousin and friends (IRL and online), and with that guy.

Their quest accomplished, the group was on its way to the NPC (to collect experience and gains) when they heard familiar voices calling them out.  
Rapunzel squealed with delight and rushed to her boyfriend’s avatar (Eugene aka Flynn_Rider) to give him a virtual bear hug while Reindeer_man was waving at them. 

“Hey, hey! Long time no see boys!” Merida exclaimed as the three of them approached their party.

Their avatars exchanged hugs and high-five and some jests when Anna noticed someone hiding (?) a bit further, among the trees. Thinking it was their NPC, or just out of curiosity, she went to see. She walked in silently, just before seeing two avatars and hearing one of them yelling, “I'm not scared or stalking!”

The young girl raised an eyebrow, she knew who it was but... oh well.

“Hey, it's been a while,” she greeted him awkwardly.

…

…

“NO!”

...

“Anna? Where are you?” Elsa asked just before her sister and another player came out of the woods, running.

For a second, the group thought a mob was pursuing them or a bad event happened, when they realized the truth.

Anna was chasing King-of-them-all, just for fun, but the poor guy sounded terrified? Embarrassed? Maybe both?

“YOU GO, PRINCESS!” cheered Reindeer_man and Merida, clapping (Elsa could hear it through her headphones).

“Wasn't that guy a PK (Player Killer)?” asked Eugene. “Anyway, the world has definitely gone topsy-turvy!” He commented drily, gaining a sneer from his girlfriend who joined the cheers.

Elsa glanced at her sister and could clearly see mischief, but also fondness, in Anna's eyes and expression. That made her smile tenderly in turn.

“J...Just STOP that already, y...you...you JINX!” complained the chased player, and the group busted out laughing while Anna continued running after him.

“WHY don't you just leave me ALONE?” wailed King-of-them-all as the female knight tackled him. “What have I ever done to you to deserve all this?”

“Wow, now, that's the pot calling the kettle black!” Anna responded, watching with glee as her avatar pinned the other knight down. “YOU were the one stalking and attacking me at every turn for at least four months, and you were very rude!”

“I never stalked you!” he denied, but Anna didn't give him a chance to go on.

“If you hated me so much, why didn't you just disconnect when we met? It's not as if we HAD to meet, this world is big enough.”

“Yeah, right, that's why we keep running into each other.” he sighed, sounding exasperated. “And why don't YOU disconnect?”

“Because I like this game! And I'm not interrupting my progress for your dreamy eyes.”

Anna bit her lip.

The words had escaped from her mouth and she felt really stupid, how could she actually have any idea if his eyes were 'dreamy'? For all she knew, he could be the ugliest boy on earth or—(oh great, now she also felt superficial)—just a common guy playing a MMORPG to compensate for anything he lacked in his life, like affection, power, etc.

“Nor am I.”  he snapped back after a few seconds. “Now, could you please, get up   
and kindly let me be?”

Anna silently did and watched him walk away.

She suddenly felt sad and didn't even know why.

\----

When she got back home, her mother smiled softly and brushed some of her hair behind her ear.

“Anna, darling, is everything alright?” She inquired.

Anna stood still, taken aback.

“Yes, I guess. I'm just a bit stressed about the exams results, but it didn't go bad when I had them so...” she stopped, seeing her mother shaking her head with a saddened smile.

“I was not worried about you passing your exams, I'm sure you will, I was asking if you were fine.” 

“I am.” Anna responded automatically not really thinking about the answer.

Her eyes suddenly began to water.

She was thankful that her mom didn't ask any more questions and just held her tight.

Later, in the evening, her father invited her to watch one of her favorite comedies and held her close to him during the whole movie, laughing with her.

\----

“Anna, why don't you use your microphone anymore?” Elsa asked her one afternoon. “Merida told me you broke it, but I know it's not. And we barely see you on High-Earth lately, is something wrong?”

“I'm not really in the mood lately.” Anna shrugged. “Nothing that actually matters, I just need a little time for myself, if I'm connected, I just want to wander a bit, that's it. And I'd rather not talk when I'm in that kind of mood, I don't want to upset anyone.”

Elsa observed her silently before she took one of her hand in hers.

“If you need to talk about it, you know you can come to me, right?”

Anna nodded before hugging her.

Once alone, she fell into bed. She didn't want to use the microphone anymore (well, not until she got better), because she knew she couldn't lie. It was easier to fake cheerfulness with writing to other players, she hated to do it to her friends and sister, but she didn't want them to worry about her either.

In fact, she wasn't even sure why she was so upset, so glum... She had an idea, but it felt so strange, so crazy.

She felt like her heart had been broken.

But how could it be possible? Anna tried to reason with herself, even gave herself a lecture, but it didn't help.

She was in love with a rude, egocentric ass—and didn't even know his face!

In love... it sounded so weird. Maybe she just liked him too much and was hurt when he rejected her. Yes, that must be it; she never really did well with rejection. Feeling rejected for more than ten years, it really triggered bad memories. And not to forget, she had a life, her family was wealthy and influential, which came with its share of perks and stress.

Yes, what happened had just been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Anna nodded and got up. And, taking a deep breath, she approached her computer.

She may not play on High-Earth today, but she could check if she got some messages. Maybe Kristoff would like to chat via Skype.

Kristoff was Reindeer_man, they had decided to get to know each other better and Anna didn't regret it. He was the brother she never had, and it seemed he felt the same towards, being an only child. 

She wondered why she couldn't have fancied him more than the other asshole, but she pushed away the thought and logged in to her account. Having a good laugh with him would cheer her up, definitely.

“Oh, a new message!”

A grin was on her face as she opened it. 

Then, she froze.

From : King-of-them-all

If she hadn't been so shocked, she would have closed her laptop. She stared blankly without actually reading it, her mind working fast and slow at the same time.

It had been sent two, no, three days ago.

What. The. Heck. She thought

Biting her lips, she started reading it.

Wait, what ?!

He was asking her, of all people, to cooperate for a small dungeon? She searched for some information about it on the forum.

Dungeon Galadrakel: 2 knights to enter

Oh.

She didn't read further, but she was still confused. It wasn't like she was the only knight in this MMORPG, right? And he hated her guts, so why? He could always pay for a mercenary!

After an inner debate, which lasted twenty minutes or so, she finally replied.

To : King-of-them-all

From : Pretty-Princess_chocolate

Cooperation accepted, if still available.

When can we do this ?

Anna entered ‘send’, mind still dazed.

When she got the answer, which specified to start at once, she clicked «enter the game» and walked towards the dungeon.

He was waiting for her.

“There you are.” he stated indifferently, yet there was something else in his voice, she couldn't put her finger on what it was. “I'm surprised you agreed to this.” A pause. “Look, I'm sorry about being rude to you last time, I didn't mean to upset you...”

Anna's fingers went on their own accord to the keyboard and typed.

“No hard feelings, don't worry! =)”

Her dungeon-mate stopped a moment before speaking again.

“You... why... don't you have a microphone?”

“Used to, but it's broken -_-''''' . But I can hear you well.”

“Oh, okay.”

“So, we go ahead?”

“Yeah, let's go. I have some plans.”

Something was off with the tone in his voice...

They battled for a while, it was not really easy but they managed to complete the dungeon and Anna couldn't help but be amazed at how much a good duo they were.

They both gained their experience, each one getting a level up, and shared the gains left. Strangely, he didn't try to cheat her out.

Once outside, she expected him to leave without a good bye, but, once more today, he surprised her.

“Hey, Anna, listen to me please.” He sounded serious. “I was sincere when I apologized, I didn’t fake it just to have you team up with me.”

“I guess so, there are plenty other knights.” She typed back. “And there are mercenaries too.”

She then blinked.

“Wait…Why did you call me 'Anna'?”

The question apparently took him aback.

“Isn't it your... I mean, how your group calls you?” He quickly went on. “Sorry, I shouldn't have... I gotta go.”

“HOLD ON A SECOND!!!” She typed, buzzing him.

When she was sure he was not going away or disconnecting, she grabbed her microphone and turned it on.

“Can we play again together tomorrow?”

Anna wanted to slap herself. What the hell was wrong with her? She was about to slam her face to her desk when he said,

“I'd love too.”

Was it affection she could hear in his voice? She wasn't sure, but her heart was melting with the softness in which he spoke.


	2. So close and still so far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna had somewhat befriended with King-of-them all. And now what?

“Hello missus!”

Anna was taken aback by the voice. A child's voice? Or perhaps it was distorted by a low-quality microphone?  
Putting her questions aside, she turned the camera of the game around, trying to see who called her.

“Hello!” she looked up.

There were an imp sitting on a tree branch, the username she read was Vanellope-von-Schweetz.

“Huh, hi? Hi, me?”

“Yeah, do you see anyone else around?” It definitely was a little girl.

“Well, no.” Anna felt a bit embarrassed. “May I help you?”

“Not really.” Vanellope answered with mischief in her voice. “I just wanted to talk to the famous Pretty-Princess_chocolate. I love chocolate too, by the way.”

“Famous? I'm not famous? …Am I?”

“My blog might help.” The small avatar jumped off the tree and ran to her.

Before Anna could ask what blog, she received a URL in her chat channel.

“I must thank you, I earned MANY credits just to secretly take screencaps of you and record you while playing. “ laughed the girl. “And I had a lot of fun too!”

Vanellope was now circling her, like a lion. It made her a bit uneasy, were all kids like this nowadays?

“Also, I wanted to know if you needed a little imp thief in your team for some quests?” The girl said with a convincingly teary-eyed voice.

“It's not only me you should ask,” informed Anna. “I can tell my friends about your request and it will be decided, although I see no reason for them to refuse.”

The child let out a cry of joy before King-of-them-all appeared.

“Sorry for making you wait, Anna, I had... What the hell are you doing here, Vanellope?”

“Ooops, gotta go!” cackled the girl. “See you later, Pretty-Princess! Or should I say, Aaaah-naaaaah!”

With that, she vanished, leaving Anna completely confused.

“What did that little pest want? Did she give you any trouble?” He really sounded furious.

Okay, now, this was getting more confusing.

“No, she just wanted to join us, the whole team I mean, to play,” she told him. “So, I told her that I had to ask all of you before and...”

“No way!” He cut her. “She's insufferable and will only try to trick you! And she might be a hacker.”

“Maybe she's not THAT bad. We weren't exactly getting along as I recall. And now, here we are, doing quests, mostly just the two of us or with our team,” remarked Anna. “And don't forget that we have our Queen with us and I can guarantee that she will not let a random hacker or troublemaker mess with any of us. She knows how to handle them!”

This seemed to calm him down, though not really convinced, but at least he was back to his nice self and went on together.

Way later, she remembered Vanellope's blog and browsed to find it.

She didn't know if she should feel flattered or horrified. It was full of screencaps of her avatar (as the girl mentioned), but there were also videos (walk-through videos, music videos, others with Vanellope commenting, etc). Well, nothing she should feel ashamed of, but still, it was a kind of stalker-ish, wasn't it? Creepy! And how could she record/take pictures of everything without getting caught? And everything was in a very good quality, HD even!

So that's why King thought she might be a bit of a hacker...

Anna was watching one of the videos when it came to a strange turn of events. Vanellope had been recording her own avatar walking in the Emerald forest, humming to herself, and was now heading to...King? He hadn't noticed her yet, busy looking somewhere else. The camera followed his gaze, zoomed to...her? With Elsa and Rapunzel? Wait, there was also Merida. Kristoff and Flynn too!

“Hey, King!” greeted the girl. “Have you decided to take your own caps instead of paying me to do so?”

“Wait, WHAT?” exclaimed Anna without realizing it.

She watched King turn around before hissing back at her.

“Shut up, brat!”

“Okay, I get it was becoming expensive, but hey, you were the one asking for all these pictures and videos!” Anna's jaw dropped. “I'm not sure your strategy, whatever it is, is actually working, whether it's for fighting or wooing her.”

“I said, SHUT. UP.” King shouted in a hushed voice.

“Hey, are you scared of her or what? She's not gonna bite you, I can tell, she's as sweet as chocolate!” she giggled. “And seriously, stalking is creepy, not sexy!”

“I'M NOT SCARED OR STALKING!” the man suddenly burst, and Anna knew what was going to happen next.

She saw her avatar coming towards the two of them and heard herself greeting awkwardly at King (That's my voice, really?) before the chase started.

Before she knew it, she was clenching her stomach from laughing. 

 

Vanellope had somehow made her way into the group (to King's and, surprisingly, Eugene's dismay) and even brought a friend with her, a Berserker called Wrecker_Ralph. It had been quite a mess at the beginning, okay, most of the time, but things were getting better, and they all had a lot of fun, even the most reluctant ones.

The question of the girl being a hacker was still unanswered, but she also could just have been a genius in informatics. She even created a new blog for the whole group, like the one she did for Anna, and everyone helped make contributions for it.

It was funny how things had turned out the way they did. But she was having a grand time, and she was so happy. She was now getting really along with Elsa (online AND in real life), had a lot of friends and a... well, maybe not a boyfriend (yet?) but she was close to her crush. ‘Crush’ though seemed inaccurate because she knew deep down that she had somehow fallen in love with him. 

Oh, how she yearned to meet him! But she knew so little about him.

King and her talked a lot, but he never really talked about his real life, it seemed like a sensitive subject, so she never pressed the issue, not wanting to upset him.  
She knew he liked horses, was quite sporty, that High-Earth wasn't the first MMORPG he played, some series and films he liked (which they had a lot in common) and that despite his bad/short temper, he could be very sweet, and was really passionate. About what, she wasn't sure yet, but she could feel it.

One day, she felt the sudden interest to find out his real name, if not his real name, at least a nickname then. After all, he called her by her first name.

They were all waiting for Elsa, who had gone to buy drinks and ice cream; her poor sister had been dying of thirst. Merida, Rapunzel, Vanellope, Kristoff and Ralph were online, but they were chatting among themselves, it was now or never!

Or so she thought, her sister came back, opening the door to let in some air, her hands full.

“I'm back!” she said with a relieved sigh, her cheeks less flushed than before. 

She had obviously quenched her thirst before coming back inside Anna's room.

The others must have heard because they all called out random greetings.

But Anna didn't want this to hinder her; it could take her forever to summon the courage to ask him again. She jumped off her seat, standing up as if they could see her.

“King, may I…!” 

She heard Elsa gasp and felt something freezing cold slither down her neck, melting and slowly making its way down her back.

Anna wanted to scream.

IT. WAS. FREAKING. COLD.

But she held it back; she kept reminding herself that she didn’t want to destroy their eardrums if she did.

Instead, she let out a weird mix of a gasp and a strangled wail, slowly becoming high-pitched as she started bouncing on her feet, arms flailing.

“Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Anna!” cried Elsa, putting down the drinks and ice cream, one of them with a missing scoop that was currently on Anna’s being.

Anna could barely hear the confused voices asking what was happening, all of them sounding worried.

“Cold-cold-cold-cold-cold-cold-cold-cold-cold-cold...” she weakly muttered.

Elsa took her headphones off, quickly apologizing for both of them in Anna's microphone before taking her sister’s hand and leading her to the bathroom.

 

“If you need to talk, I'm here. I'm listening.” Anna gently urged.

King was silent. He seemed upset. The young girl wished she could do something, anything, for him.

Since the ice cream incident of two weeks ago, just as she presumed, she didn't gather enough courage to ask him about his name. So she continued calling him by his screen name.

Until today, he had been like his old self: confident, a bit over-reacting, touchy sometimes but nice, and she had been sure that he was slowly opening up to her.

But now here they were, walking silently in the Diamond city, a city their whole group had discovered some days ago after an epic journey (recorded by, God bless her, dear Vanellope). King was closed up like a clam, and Anna was desperately trying to get to him.

Anna followed him, but he was going nowhere, just wandering around aimlessly. It had happened a few times before, but he hadn't been like that. He told her he didn't want to talk about it and just wanted to enjoy a good time in High-Earth... a moment alone with her. 

When he said that, it had made her heart warm, but at the moment, she felt useless, cold.

She felt tears welling in her eyes and breathed deeply to keep them from spilling. She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on something else, such as the music.

Then, it hit her.

The music had sounded familiar, but now, she knew what it was.

“It's Wicked!” She realized with a smile.

She would never forget that Broadway musical, she knew almost all the songs by heart, and she loved to sing them. Most of the time, she sang them in duets with Elsa, because Wicked had helped bring them back together. It had been the first time in more than ten years that the two sisters had done something together. And both of them cried their eyes out while watching it, and when they went out the building, Elsa had thrown herself at Anna, hugging her tightly. Since that day, when one of them was feeling really down, the other would start singing a song from Wicked until the other joined in. It became their little tradition.

An idea popped in her head.

She felt like she was betraying a secret, an oath, and that it might not work on King. There was also a chance he would think her stupid, childish or odd. Did he even know the musical? Or know the song that was currently playing?

It was worth a shot.

When the music started again, she hummed first, then, she began singing.

The song was ‘One Short Day’.

She sang the chorus and Glinda's parts only, purposely leaving Elphaba's parts (that Elsa always sang) as his invitation to join in.

When she felt thought it was good, she put her heart into the song, the notes becoming higher, more natural with more emotions. Anna almost forgot that King, as well as a lot of other people, was listening to her.

The song was coming to its end, and King was still silent. Anna felt her heart ache, but she didn't let it affect her singing.  
Elphaba and Glinda's last part came and she was resigned to sing it alone, but then, a male voice joined her. Her heart leapt and started pounding so hard she was sure she now sounded off tune. 

His voice was beautiful. Oh, so beautiful.

“We're just two friends.” she sang, her hands clutched to her chest with hope filling her.

“Two good friends.” he sang back, his voice slightly shaking, as if he were holding back tears.

For one second, she thought about changing the lyrics, to turn it into a confession, but her habit got the best of her.

“Two best friends.” she corrected.

The song ended and Anna got the impression of being lowered into a deep, dark pit. Did the music actually stop? Were the other gamers quiet too? Or had she somehow closed her attention to her surroundings, just focusing on the one she loved? She was waiting for his reaction like a condemned person for a sentence.

A sound, like a sob reached her ears before King finally spoke.

“Thank you.”

A tear rolled on her cheek as a smile crept on her face.

“You're welcome.” she answered, and used the hug action of the game.

She wished she could touch him, to actually hold him in her arms, but this was better than nothing.

Her right hand rose timidly, the tips of her fingers brushing the screen, trying to reach out to him.

Some days later, she was told the two of them had unlocked a secret quest by singing a song together and earned a special/legendary equipment, people had recorded them and apparently it had made a buzz. But she didn't really care.

The message King sent her, asking her to accept his request to sing As Long as You're Mine with him, took away all her attention.

 

“That must be one of the cutest, sweetest confessions I've ever heard!” beamed Rapuzel,  “I'm so happy for you, Anna!”

Anna blushed and hugged her pillow closer, a smile plastered on her face.

“Thanks, Punzie. Your story, the 'you are my new dream' is adorable too!” she giggled.

“Yes, it is.” Rapunzel blushed in turn. “But that was so...aaawww! He doesn't seem like it, but he's really shy, isn't he?”

“I'm not sure 'shy' is the right word, but he's definitely not as tough as he pretends to be.”

“And...did you finally get his real name” inquired her cousin, bouncing on the bed. 

If anything, Anna's smile widened, nodding. 

Rapunzel squealed, jumping onto her and the two started giggling like mad. 

If Elsa and Merida were to enter the room now, they would certainly think they had gone insane.

Rapunzel was the first to know about her and King, not because she didn't trust her sister or the others. It was just that Rapunzel would understand her excitement better than any of them.

And yes, he finally gave her his name. 

His real name.

Hans.

She loved the sound of it. It was just perfect.

And, most of all, he finally confided to her.

And so did she.

They had so much in common, now she was even more eager to meet him in real life. But she felt she had to take it slowly, and be patient (why yes, she could be, thank you very much!).

Hans had a lot of problems with his family and was trying so hard to find his own place somewhere, desperate to run away from his household. He wanted his own home and to feel—no, be loved.

He told Anna he had many older brothers (he didn't precise how many), and that three of them were especially horrible towards him and that most of the others didn't care about him. Some pretended they did but then left and those who actually had affection for him... well, he was not their priority. 

She had tried to smooth him, telling him that they—meaning his brothers—were probably just clumsy in expressing their love or that they just didn't know how to do so. If they barely talked after all, how could they know what his passions, dreams, tastes or anything were? 

He listened to her, a bit skeptical at first, but when she told him about her relationship with Elsa, how it had been until two years ago; he realized she did know what she was talking about. 

“May I listen to it? Please?” Anna jumped, her daydream broken by Rapunzel’s voice. “Or... if this is a secret, do you have another duet I can listen to?”

“Of course you can.” A tender smile touched Anna’s lips, as she clicked on her music player.

They both listened to it until Merida and Elsa came looking for them and the four girls went out together.

 

His voice was so soft and tender as he called her name. She could feel his hands caressing her hair, and then her face, and then trailing even lower.  
She caressed him in return, trying to figure out what his body looked like in the darkness, and kissed him all over his face before passionately covering his lips.

“Hans...!” She moaned, growing more and more aroused, the room suddenly so warm...

Anna woke up, tangled in her bed sheets. 

She looked around frantically. She was in Elsa's room? Oh yes, the four of them had brought sleeping mats so they could all sleep together in the same room.

The three other girls were fortunately still fast asleep but Anna felt her cheeks burn.

Had she moaned loudly? Said anything?

This was awkward and frustrating, she could not do anything with them so close by! What if she woke them? She’d die of shame!

But she couldn't stay like this either; she would never fall asleep in such a state.

Slowly, she got up. Since it was summer, there was enough light so she could leave the room without walking on Merida or tripping on her own feet.

Her bedroom was not far anyway.

Once inside, she felt a bit safer and went straight to her bed. The cold sheets made her shiver a moment but she quickly forgot about that.

Her hands went on their own accord as the pillow muffled Anna's delighted moans.

When she returned to Elsa's room, Rapunzel and Merida were still soundly sleeping. Elsa turned hearing the door and sleepily waved at her, smiling gently before she closed her eyes again. 

Anna got back under her thin blanket with a little sigh, trying to forget her embarrassment and sleep.


	3. You could have been anyone at all, I'm so glad it was you

“See, boys? The door at the back leads to the main hall, so you can go away and play if you get bored.” explained Merida's mother to her triplets. “So please, no pranks tonight!”

“One can only hope!” whispered Merida to her friend, holding back a laugh.

Anna and Merida were moving a table inside the room Elinor was showing to the three little devils, it was a slightly hidden behind some curtains, but once inside, you could clearly see the other room where the reception was being held without being seen in return. The four girls called it “the sanctuary,” solely purposed to be a refuge for them (and the younger children). 

Elsa, not really great with crowds, would at times need a break without people noticing her going away for too long. It was a good opportunity for the three other girls to sneak away and chat about what they wanted and laugh loudly without feeling embarrassed or get stared at. Plus, some food would be there, so Anna could stuff chocolate in her face and not care about someone else seeing her.

Elinor also asked them to take care of Merida's little brothers. Once their presence was not needed anymore, they would take the kids away and let them go back in their room to play without causing trouble. But knowing them, it would be a miracle if they didn’t.

The two red-haired girls were helping relocate the tables while their fathers moved the sofas aside, as Elsa and Rapunzel brought in some chairs. Anna's parents had a household staff but they were already busy in the kitchen, preparing for the whole reception. A Part of them were assigned inside the big salon, the others outside in the gardens.

It was the first time they were holding a reception in their home, and so many people were coming! 

“Hey, Daniel, lucky for us our good ol' Westergard doesn't bring his whole family, right?” laughed Fergus, slapping Anna's father on the back. “With my boys, we have enough animation!”

“I think his sons are all adults now,” replied the shorter man with a chuckle. “So even if they were all coming, I doubt it would be as lively as you imagine.”

“Why? How many children does this man have, mom?” asked Merida curiously.

“Thirteen, my dear. Thirteen sons.”

Anna froze and exchanged a bewildered look with her friend.

“From the same mother?” exclaimed the younger girl.

Elinor merely nodded before turning to Ines, Anna's mom, to go over the last details of the event.

All they could add to this information was a compassionate thought for the mother and a mumbled “wow”.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rapunzel was helping Anna do her hair when her thoughts wandered to someone special.

“Feeling a bit down?”

“Um? Oh, not really, I'm just a bit stressed. It's the first time we have so many people here, I don't really know how I feel. I'm happy, but...”

She sighed.

Her cousin smiled at her reflection.

“I'm sure he misses you too,” the brunette said. “And for tonight, just stop being so hard on yourself, Anna, please. You are wonderful just the way you are, so don't start making comparisons between you and Elsa.”

Anna gave her a grateful smile and looked at herself in the mirror.

“You’re very pretty, okay?” Rapunzel assured.

“Okay.”

When her cousin left for the bathroom to prepare, Anna’s smile went down a bit.

She missed Hans.

It had been two weeks since they last talked. He told her he was going on a trip abroad with his family and that he might not be able to connect to High-Earth for a month or so.

Well, at least, he could send her e-mails, which she received. It was not the same though, but it was certainly better than nothing.

Maybe she should have asked where he was going, but since his family was involved, she didn't push it. It was a business trip apparently.

Anna internally scolded herself; it was not the time to mope.

A knock on her door broke the silence.

“Come in.”

Her mother stepped in and admired her in amazement.

“You are so beautiful, my darling.” she breathed, her hands joined over her chest.

“Thank you.” she felt herself grin.

“We are waiting for all of you downstairs.”

“I'm coming!” Rapunzel called out from the bathroom.

Gathering her courage and breathing in deeply, the young girl pushed aside her negative thoughts and kept a smile.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anna glanced at her sister, standing somewhat rigidly by her side; all while their parents were talking to some of their guests. She gently took one of her hands in hers and squeezed lightly. Elsa smiled at her and mouthed a “thank you” before relaxing. She seemed less nervous then.

The strawberry-haired girl looked around, she spotted Rapunzel dancing with her fiancé (lucky girl) and Merida was with her mother, talking with one of their acquaintances.

She let out a little sigh, nobody had really talked to her, merely exchanged greetings, and she couldn't blame them. Who would take interest in her after all? She was just an average girl. Elsa was gifted and prettier; the heir of their parents' company, of course people would turn to her.

Suddenly, she spotted one of the triplets holding something, trying to hide it. The young girl squinted her eyes, wondering what it was. Then she gasped.

A hanger?

And he was heading to the chocolate fountain.

“Oh no, you don't!” she muttered and went out to catch him.

Unfortunately, the little redhead saw her and rushed under the table to hide.

Feeling annoyance rising inside her, she dived towards him, not giving a damn about anyone looking at her or not.

“Come here, you little rascal!” she exclaimed as her hands grabbed the child.

He tried to escape for a moment but gave up when he realized Anna was far too strong for him.

“Not fair!” he whined, pouting.

“Oh, please, Hubert, can't you and your brothers wait a little longer? Just ten minutes more and you'll be free to run around!”

“I'm not Hubert!!”

“You would have said the same thing had I called you Hamish or Harris! Come now!”

With the boy tucked under her arm, she crawled from under the tablecloth and stood up a bit too abruptly. 

“Ow!” another voice exclaimed with hers.

Her head had bumped into someone.

“I'm sorry!” She and the other person said at the same time.

Her free hand on her head, she looked up. 

She felt as if lightning struck her then.

The young man in front of her was gorgeous.

His hand was on his belly, obviously to sooth the pain away, and she flushed.

“I'm sorry!” she repeated. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, no you didn't!” he let out a little laugh. “What about you?”

“Oh, it's nothing!” she felt the boy struggling, taking advantage of the situation. “Stop that, Hubert!” she snapped.

When she saw the man's eyes widen, her whole face became red. 

After this little outburst, he’d probably think she was hysterical. 

But, to her surprise, he held a hand to his mouth, suppressing a laugh.

“Sorry, I don't mean to mock you, it's just...” he was cut off by his own laugh.

This somewhat relieved her and she laughed along with him.

“Harris! What are you up to, young man?” both of them turned and saw Elinor walking towards them. “I'm sorry, dear, let me take care of this naughty boy!”

Anna handed Harris to his mother before turning her attention back to the man with auburn hair.

Strange, he seemed familiar, but she could swear she never saw him before.

The two of them stared into the other's eyes, smiling.

He was about to say something when someone put a hand on her shoulder.

“Sorry to interrupt.” apologized Eugene. “I think your parents need you.”

“Oh!” the young girl frantically looked back to where she had been standing moments ago. “Sure, thanks! Sorry!” she quickly started to walk away, but turned back to wave at the stranger. “Bye!”

“Seriously, Anna?” She thought as she rejoined her sister's side.

They greeted a couple other guests when someone called out their father.

“Daniel Solheim! It's been so long!” a middle-aged man told him.

“Good to see you too, Georges!” smiled the girls' father as they both shook hands.

“Good evening, Ines.” he greeted their mother. “You haven’t changed, you're still the beautiful lady I met thirty years ago. Kristella would have loved to see you again.”

“You're too kind, Georges.” smiled the brunette. “I would have loved to see her too, I hope she’s fine.”

“She is still quite fragile, but she is in good hands at home,” informed the man. “And so, these two lovely maidens are your daughters?”

“Elsa, Anna, meet Georges Westergard, an old friend and partner,” explained their father, stepping aside, he placed his hands on each of the girls’ shoulders.

The two sisters smiled and said “good evening, sir” in unison.

“How charming. Please, let me introduce four of my sons.” Mr. Westergard looked behind him and Anna noticed that the handsome man from earlier was among the four sons.

She smiled at him and he smiled back.

“My eldest son, Hubert.” he presented the oldest one and Anna bit the inside of her cheek as not to giggle. “Jan, Lars, and the youngest Hans.”

When the beautiful stranger was introduced as “Hans”, Anna's eyes went wide and her mind suddenly blanked out.

Hans? Like her Hans?

She thought he looked familiar or more like he sounded familiar?

And wait... Westergard, the man who had like thirteen sons?! And her Hans who said he was the youngest of a big family…?

Elsa gently elbowed her, bringing her back to Earth.

Their mother introduced them again, for the four men. Hearing her name, this Hans seemed startled and looked at her with a wide-eyed expression as he did earlier, but the shock she could see in them was not the same.

He reacted to their name. To her name.

Could he be...? 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It's just a coincidence, stop dreaming Anna!” the young girl told herself before taking a huge bite off her chocolate cake.

She munched it sadly, feeling miserable and lonely.

After being introduced to this Hans, his eldest brother took him away in the garden for whatever reason and she couldn't find him after her parents told her she was free to go.

Elsa and Merida brought the triplets back to their room and Rapunzel wanted a moment alone with Eugene in a less crowded room.

And here she was, alone, eating chocolate and feeling sorry for herself.

She really couldn't help it, and only chocolate seemed tocheer her up at the moment.

But was she sad or frustrated? She couldn't tell!

Maybe going to find her sister and Merida or even playing with the three red-haired monsters would be a better option, but she didn't feel like standing up.

She was fine, sitting like this in her chair, a plate full of delicacies (full of chocolate, please) on the table next to her, with a good view of the reception inside... or so she told herself.

Sipping some water, the strawberry-haired girl observed the crowd having fun.  
Something she wasn’t having.

And then she saw him.

He looked... lost? Was he looking for something? Someone maybe...?

He was so adorable, like a lost puppy.

Anna bit her lip; maybe it was the best moment for her to get up and talk to him? But what was she going say? “Hey, it's crazy, but you have the same name and voice with a man I never actually met but I'm totally head over heels for?”

... Huh, nope!

The young man was coming near the curtains, she saw him glancing to his left and his expression changed from “I'm looking for someone” to “oh shit, not him/her, gotta hide/run!”

He disappeared from her view and she sighed. Another chance lost in the wind.

The curtains moved and Hans was suddenly in the room with her.

Anna was so shocked she stayed still, unable to speak.

He didn't look in her direction, he merely looked surprised to see another arranged room, but was most preoccupied by whomever he was hiding from.

After a minute of silence, he seemed to relax a bit and went to sit on the nearest chair.

The one she was already sitting on.

She didn't know what made him react first, the feeling he was sitting on human legs or the loud (and weird) yelp that escaped her lips.

He immediately got up and turned around.

“Oh my God, I'm so sorry!!” he said in one breath and froze, recognizing her.

“It's okay!” she assured him with a laugh. “You're lucky my plate wasn't on my knees!” 

Anna brought her hands to her mouth, preventing any more words, thinking hard “Shut up Anna!” Seriously, what was wrong with her?! What kind of comment was that?!

Hans' face became crimson red or had he already been blushing earlier?

They stared at each other a moment before the young man started talking, rather rambled.

“I'm sorry about... I was just...” he sighed, looking annoyed with himself. “I think I should leave you alone, please excuse me.”

“No, wait!” She cried, getting up and grabbing his hand. “Please, stay, I wanted to talk to you since...well, since we met actually but I couldn't find you after...” Anna was a bit at a loss for words. “If you need a break from the crowd, I understand, but you can stay here, I'll be the one leaving.”

Before she could move, Hans held her back gently, his eyes locked on hers. It was like he was silently pleading her to stay with him.

“You...” he licked his lips and she felt butterflies in her stomach. “You were looking for me?” he asked shyly, his cheeks still red.

Her own lips felt dry, and not trusting her voice, she nodded.

…

…

After making themselves confortable on a sofa, they talked. And the more they talked, the more Anna was convinced it was him.

They were, no, they seemed different, but wasn't it natural? You don't act the same way on the Internet, well; most people don’t, except her because she wore her heart on her sleeve anywhere—except in real life. And they didn't meet in the same circumstances, so that didn't really count, right?

Hans, her Hans was just in front of her, but she just couldn't decide on what to say or how to act to make him understand it was her, that she was his Anna.

And what if she was wrong? Was he really her Hans or was she just hoping he was?

When the conversation halted, Anna took a krumkake to her plate. Seeing him eye the dessert curiously, she held it to him with a grin.

“Would you like to have it?” he seemed surprised by her question. “Have you ever eaten a krumkake?”

“Can't say I have.” he replied with a chuckle and took the plate. “It looks quite fragile,” he remarked as he took the pastry between his fingers.

“Yep. It's a delicious dessert that can't be eaten with any elegance! You have to bite the whole thing or your clothes will get chocolate stains!” she laughed.

She held her breath as Hans took her advice seriously and almost swallowed it at once, holding a hand in front of his mouth. The two of them started laughing together again as some crumbs fell from his face.

“That's it, you got it!” she clapped. “And, oh, I've been wondering, who were you running from before? A persistent lady? Like a fangirl?” 

The young man's smile flattered a second before she mentioned the idea of some fangirl running after him.

“If only!” he puffed. “No, I wanted to avoid two of my brothers, Jan. and Lars”

“You don't get along?” the girl urged, losing a bit of her smile. “Oh, sorry, I'm being nosy now!”

“You're not.” he soothed her. “And well, about Jan, it's not that we don't get along, it's just that...” he sighed deeply but kept smiling. “He talks so much it can become quite... unbearable! I mean, to the point you just want to punch or strangle him just to shut him up! And it's really a shame because he's quite nice, just... insufferably talkative!”

Hesitation could be read on his face before he continued.

“And for Lars...” Anna saw a mix of sadness and anger in his eyes. “I often wonder if I did really feel worse when he was ignoring me.”

“Ignoring you?”

“Yes, he and two of our brothers pretended I was invisible, literally. For two years!” he definitely sounded upset.

Her heart clenched and she fought back the urge to hug him, not sure he would take it well.

“It's horrible!” she sadly exclaimed and Hans just shrugged, smiling again.

“That's what brothers do,” he stated like it was the most usual thing in the world.

Two years ago, she would have agreed and added “and sisters”, but today, everything was different. 

She knew Elsa never hated her.

And she also knew that no one in their right mind or otherwise would treat another human being like this just because they could.

“No, Hans, that's pretty messed up.”

If Anna's breath hadn't been taken away when she realized what she said, she would have gasped at herself. The words slipped out before she could prevent it.

And now, Hans was looking at her with alarm again, obviously shocked.

“I mean” she quickly went on “my sister did shut me out for more than ten years, but she didn't do it for fun. She wanted to protect me; she acted like this out of love, even if, well, it made both of us suffer.

“I guess it can be complicated, every relationship is different, and sometimes, siblings can be mean to one another, but this... not even acknowledging your existence for years like it's a game or for entertainment, it's just so cruel it can't be just teasing! It's plain abuse! And if there’s something I'm sure about it’s that being family or close friends is not an excuse for abusing anyone.”

His eyes were shining, but Anna couldn't tell if it was because of a feeling she couldn't describe or repressed tears.

“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have...”

“How could you forgive your sister?” he suddenly asked leaning in, his voice barely above a whisper.

This was it. It was the moment.

She had already answered that question, some time ago.

“Elsa and I had a confrontation, I was desperate and angry, and when I was told the truth about her, about us, I really didn't know how to feel. I think I was upset because I had been left in ignorance for so long, but my sister looked so afraid, so fragile... I couldn't hate her. I was already told I had every reason in the world to, but...”

“It's just who you are.” he finished.

Anna licked her lips and swallowed.

“After some time, we decided to play together in an online game called High-Earth. It was the first time I ever played this kind of game, but since Elsa had a lot of experience in it, I trusted her to help me through it and guide me, which she did, but she couldn't help with my clumsiness.” she laughed a bit. “I was a walking disaster for anyone crossing my path... or more precisely, for one player. It was always the same who always got into trouble because of me, he must have thought I was doing it on purpose and couldn't bear the sight of me after a while! And we kept on fighting and yelling at each other each time we met, he was so rude towards me, a real pest, and yet... I somehow adored him already.”

“The more I interacted with you, the more I was infuriated with you too. It was almost an obsession,” the young man breathed, smiling as if he just couldn't believe what was happening. “And when I heard you sing, when I realized you truly wanted to comfort me, I just knew...” 

Anna didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry as she took a sharp intake of breath.

“Anna...?”

“I love you, Hans, my King.”

“I...” his lips trembled, some tears escaping his eyes. “I was hoping it was you, my Princess.”

Anna threw herself at him, making him fall backwards, she was lying on top of him, his back pressed against the sofa. She held him close as tears spilled from her own eyes. She laughed and sobbed, not caring a whit about their current position. 

“Hans! It's you! It's really you!” 

His arms wrapped around her and held her tightly against his torso. 

“Oh my God...!” he chuckled and placed his face in the crook of her neck. “Anna! I'm so glad it's you!”

The strawberry-haired girl let go of him to look at him, wanting to memorize every detail of his face. Her hand caressed his cheek and her face started to hurt because she couldn't stop smiling.

Hans was smiling at her too, one hand still on the small of her back, he mimicked her caresses with the other.

And before she knew it, Anna was leaning forward and kissed him.

She felt him tense with surprise, and then relax before returning her kiss.

Anna could have kept kissing him the whole night, she felt like she was flying in the sky, or on a little cloud or both. It was like a dream.

But waking up was always hard.

A rather loud sound made them break apart. The girl looked up and saw three little red heads piled up on a table, and the one of the top was...

“No!!” she cried. “Hamish! Hubert! Harris! Don't! STOP!”

Too late.

Every guest jumped as an alarm rang loudly and cried out in surprise as cold water showered from above.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elinor was still apologizing to everyone for her sons’ behavior when Anna came back after changing into another dress and fixing her hair and make-up.

Merida waved at her right before Anna rushed to hug her neck.

“Oh, Merida, I'm so happy!” she squealed as she hugged her friend.

“Er... okay? Well good, you're not angry at my brothers?” questioned the confused girl.

“Oh, I'll get them for what happened later!” she giggled, bouncing.

Merida arched an eyebrow.

“I met him, at last! He's here!!” explained the oldest girl, excited.

“Who?” if anything, the Scottish girl was only more confused.

“Hans! Hans came to the party! Oh my God, I gotta tell Elsa and 'Punzie too!” she dragged her puzzled friend behind her. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A look at her watch told her that she would be fifteen minutes early, but she didn't care, it was their first real date and Hans was only staying for two weeks so she didn't want to waste any of it by being late.

When she arrived, he was already there waiting. 

The young girl grinned and sprang into his direction, calling out his name before lunging at him.

Hans let out an ”oof” as he caught her and laughed, holding her against him.

“I'm not used to so much contact and these public displays of affection.” He confessed, kissing her hair.

“Well, you’ll have to!” Anna joked as she touching her forehead to his. “You will never have to ask or hesitate to get a hug from me.”

They stared lovingly into each other's eyes before Hans whispered,

“I love you, Anna.”

Anna's hand slid into his hair and gently pulled him down for a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Snuberr ( http://snuberr.tumblr.com/ ) who beta-read this and encouraged me to read it after I suggested the idea^^.
> 
> If you wonder what is my main inspiration, it's the French webserie "Noob", you can watch it on youtube with English subtitles here :  
> http://www.youtube.com/user/Funglisoft


End file.
